A device has been disclosed, for example, by WO 98/37744 A1. According to that document, the fitting head can be moved in a working plane by use of an X-Y positioning device. The positioning device comprises a stationary longitudinal guide and a transverse positioning arm displaceably mounted thereon, along which the fitting head is displaceably mounted. The stationary longitudinal guide is formed on a beam-like carrier, which extends along one side of the working plane.
A conveying path for the substrates is led through the device. The conveying path is used in one sub-area as a fitting station, in which the substrates are fixed to be fitted. The travel range covers the fitting area and the collecting points for the components, which are removed from feed devices by use of the fitting head and are placed on the substrate. In particular during placement of the components, very high requirements on the accuracy must be met.
It is usual to finish the fitting devices completely at the manufacturer and to test them. These tests include, inter alia, calibration with the determination of the offset values in the positioning of the fitting head in the various sub-areas of the fitting area. These offset values are stored in the control devices of the fitting device and taken into account with an appropriate correction step during each subsequent fitting operation. The control devices are normally held in a chassis of the fitting device and connected to the positioning device by cables. In the event of replacement of the positioning device or even only parts thereof, the machine has to be completely remeasured in order to redetermine the appropriate offset values. Performing such a recalibration of the device at the point of use can be associated with problems if the corresponding measuring equipment is lacking there.
DE 36 30 178 A1 discloses a fitting device in which functional units are joined together in modular fashion to form a mounting device, the functional units having their own chassis, which are clamped to one another in the manner of flanges by means of connecting elements. For example, a mounting station with its own stand and an X-Y positioning system is coupled to a transport station, the mounting station being provided with its own control electronics. Modern fitting technology with extremely high performance rates and extremely high accuracy requirements assumes a particularly dimensionally rigid and low-oscillation supporting construction, which cannot be achieved with the individual modules erected on the floor, whose oscillatory behavior additionally remains undefined.